


Golden Sunlight Filtered through the Trees

by Kasan_Soulblade



Series: Of Shattered Glass/These Warped Perspectives [12]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Gen, Sheena Corrine friendship fic, Spoilers for Sheena's background, lab testing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-03-17
Packaged: 2018-01-15 12:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1305550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasan_Soulblade/pseuds/Kasan_Soulblade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of the "Foundations of the Fall" arch.</p><p>Sheena/Corrine centric pre-game.</p><p>When they met, she made him a promise. Unlike everyone else she kept her promise.  It was a small thing really, so tiny but sure.  So he made a promise back because it felt right and kept his too. Thus they built a friendship upon the back or words kept and never broken.  And used those words to bridge two very different worlds.</p><p>Never did they know that all accidental they took the path of summoner and spirit laid out centuries ago.  To them it was words.  To other forces it was something much more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Golden Sunlight filtered through the trees….

 

 

 

There were needles, pain, and a scent in the air that made his nose burn. Whimpering, covering his black eyes the creature cringed back from the white clad creatures on their two legs. When they came so too did the needles. And the needles hurt, and the nasty stings and burns that the needles brought were even worse than the needles themselves. When it wasn't needles and stinging and burning it was boring. The walls were white, and there was that horrible smell and those even worse walls that let you look but not touch. There had been a time he had tried to break that see through wall… that translucent expanse had proven too hard for his head to break through, too slick for his teeth to bite, and when he scratched at it with his claws….

It made them wince, cover their pink stubby ears and cringe, and while that was _very_ satisfying it made his ears hurt more then there's and left him with a headache. So he only did that when he was in a really bad mood. A span ago, when the circle thing with it's annoying tap tick tock limbs were pointed at the upper left hand black things he had scratched and scratched at the glass. He had barked out laughter at their pain, trying to laugh off his own, and they'd finally gotten mad and come in with a needle. One of them, the one with a patch of brown fur on its head, had pinned his legs and drawn out a needle…

He recalled nothing else after that, just a bit of pain and darkness.

Shadows, long two legged things in non-white fake furs were in the room. He pressed his nose to the cage, stared at them. They were coming for him, he had been bad, he knew now that they were really going to punish him… A white covered hand pulled aside the glass, and lined up this cage with another hand held one. Hissing, backing up on four paws the Spirit recalled with a pang the time he had danced across the heavens, had traveled amongst the stars. Now the most travel he got was from one box to another.

"Come on Corrine…" Came a sickening sweet, serum slick voice. "Come on Corrine, in the cage… be a good girl and…" The speech was punctured with a whistle.

"I think…" Came a new voice, not one of _their_ voices. "The spirit is a male."

The cage that had been his den for so long was now lined up with a new smaller cage. While it wasn't white he did not like how it bobbed up and down. He was not stepping from this cage willingly to go to another, to go to another set of rooms, with more needles and more white clad things that walked on two legs!

_No, no leave me alone!_

Hissing, fur bristled on end, small teeth gnashing together, Corrine told them without words he was not coming unless they drugged him.

"Corrine? Is that the spirit's name Grandfather?" Was the strange high pitched thing's question. It was a shadow like the other, not wearing white, he’d seen th t much but nothing else.

"Yes Sheena, it is."

"You have a visitor Corrine, now come out like a good… spirit and…"

 _Please… just go away… don't hurt me anymore_!

"We have a visitor for you Corrine." Came an exasperated voice of the needle holder, the one who liked using needles all the time, the brown head furred one! "Come out right now!"

"Scientist Clark-san…" The high pitched new voice said hesitantly. "Maybe Corrine does not wish to go in a cage?”

"Really little girl, well then what do you suggest we do?"

"You will speak to my granddaughter with some respect." Came a harsh sounding male voice that was all scratchy.

"Can I try something, please?" So squeaked the squeaker.

"Be my guest." Clark snarled, tossing the cage aside in disgust.

"Hello." A small two legged creature poked its head in the space where the cage had been. Corrine stared into those light purple eyes; it made him think of the one time when he had seen the sun set and the fluffy wisps that the two legged things called clouds had turned that color. "Could you come out, please?"

Corrine stared at the thing, not quite grasping what a "please" was. He knew "come out", but the tone wasn't an order, it didn't have a promise of needles laced through it… Despite himself Corrine sat on his haunches and stared at the purple eyed, black head furred creature before him.

"You are Corrine aren't you? I'm Sheena, it's nice to meet you, but it's hard to talk all like this…"

Considering how tall the creature was, and how low the cage was, it must be bent over double to be talking to him now. The image of Clark in that position, right in line for having a painful bite on the butt made Corrine smile. In all the tick tock click limbs spins he'd been here he'd only managed to bite Clark once. Perhaps if he went with this small creature he'd get another chance? There was no cage in the things tone, and that not-promise was nice enough that it might be worh having it broken if only the delusion could hold fo more than a minute.

 _I can't trust you. Two legged monsters just hurt me_ …

Laying down, staring at the creature before him Corrine wondered why there were wet sparkles in those dark eyes.

"I won't hurt you."

Corrine blinked, stared at the creature, the only creature who’d talked to him ever, and held delusion a little tighter.

_No cage?_

"Un-uh."

"Ms. Sheena… who are you talk-" Clark began.

"Shhh," The rsp voice interrupted the scientists. "Let them talk."

 _Swear it_.

"I swear I won't stick you in a cage unless you want me to."

 _As if that would ever happen_.

"You're silly…" The thing made a high pitched "hehe" noise that Corrine didn't recognize. "Will you come out now?"

_I gave my word._

The four legged creature heaved a sigh and found his paws. Slowly he padded to the front of the bare cage, and right when he was going to jump out the small creature caught him in two paws. Wrapped in the clawless paws of the "Sheena" he was turned to Clark.

"See, just say please next time."

Clark turned a different color, red, it was an entertaining phenomenon to watch and so Corrine did from the safety of this "Sheena" creatures arms. Corrine twitched as the two legged creature's forepaw tugged on his tails. At the second tug Corrine winced. That really hurt, he was losing fur to the creature's clumsy tugging!

_Please stop that!_

Blinking, the girl muttered a new word, "sorry", having no idea what it meant Corrine didn't quite know how to respond, but the tugging did stop.

"You're supposed to say "thank you"."

 _Oh_ …

Corrine blinked, then realized that the creature was reading his thoughts, that was strange none of the other two legged monsters ever even bothered to do that!

"Fascinating…" One of the two legged things with fake white furs on them were staring at the creature that held him. It was the "needle" look that set him to whimpering in remembered pain. Feeling pity for the creature who didn't understand, Corrine felt the small creatures confusion and put the image of needles and the things in white with those needles… Poking and prodding and…

The response his action garnered was completely unexpected.

"No!" Sheena still holding him tightened her grip, not so that it hurt, but that it was a little restrictive. "No needles! Leave Corrine alone! Corrine doesn't like you and your needles."

"Oh come on little girl…" Clark snickered. "It's just an animal, it's not like it has feelings or…"

"You wanted to know if it was a true spirit and not some monster, you now have your answer." The hard voice said calmly. "Sheena possesses the blood of Summoners. She is of the Summoning Linage. The fact she can telepathically communicate with Corrine is all the proof you need."

_Telepathically?_

"Grandpa, what does "telepathically" mean?"

Looking at the "Grandpa" creature, a tall, thin, wrinkled two legged creature Corrine didn't quite know what to make of it. The girl felt warm and bubbly around the thing, but Corrine didn't quite feel the same way.

"When you speak to him dear, we don't hear what he says, but you do."

"Oh." Sheena blinked.

The people and white were all excited, all talking, and every pair of eyes screamed "needles" and Corrine hated it. He wanted to go back in his cage where it would be quieter, but if he did then they'd stick him with needles and hurt him. But the noise hurt too… The creature holding him winced, and then went to the "Grandpa" wrinkled thing.

"Grandpa, can I go outside for a little bit?"

"Of course Sheena."

"Leave the test subject in the lab." Clark snapped, "Here… this cage."

"No cages, I promised." Sheena protested, holding Corrine a little too tight, as the Spirit was now having some problems breathing. "We'll be back in a little bit!" With a wide grin Sheena ran off Corrine still in her arms.

Seeing the room fading away, that room of white and burning smells Corrine felt his heart lighten. He was scared, because the room was all he'd known, but maybe, just maybe, he'd never have to go back ever again. Maybe this "outside" thing would be better then the cage.

Anything was better then the cage, even being held by this two legged creature and bobbing up and down in its strange paws grip as it ran. He'd just have to hold on to this creature and see how much better "outside" was.


	2. What is "outside" and "play"?

Golden Sunlight filtered through the trees

What is "outside" and "play"?

Chapter 2

They had walked, or rather the two legged creature had walked and Corrine had held on for dear life. Still holding him the creature stopped running and folded it's legs so that it rested on the joint and lower half of its leg. The paws that were holding him drifted slowly to the ground and it was with a happy sigh Corrine jumped off of those paws and onto the ground. It was soft, and not metal, squishy, smelled nice, and there were lots of green things that were almost as tall as he was tickling his neck. He bated the long slender slip of green and it bobbed under his paw in response.

Intrigued he did so again, and it bobbed again, watching it bob and squirm was interesting so he kept at it. He bounced off the balls of his paws to hop along the soft ground and smack at the one slip of green. H hit it at all sides, tired and probably failed to just smack it out of all the other many green slips. As he moved the other green things brushed his fur with teasing green fingers. At their touch a warm bubbly noise came out of his throat, it came out as a series of sharp barks that got somehow mixed with a hiccup.

The two legged thing above him made it's trademark "hehe" noise and threw itself on the grass, content it seemed to just lie on it's back.

"Are you having fun Corrine?"

_Fun?_

The thing rolled over, it seemed from Corrine's view on the ground a span of the earth just rolled over. Still it didn't smell like ground, it was spicy and sweet at the same time so that's how he knew it was the Sheena creature. The two legged monster squirmed, and eventually they were face to face.

"You don't know what fun is?"

_Never heard the word._

"Fun's playing." The high pitched voice explained.

_What is… playing?_

The creatures mouth seemed to curl upon itself, but the curl went down. Corrine recognized that look, somewhat, it was the "you're being bad look" that Clark liked. Except unlike Clark there wasn't the "needle" look in the eyes.

"You've never played before?"

_I've never been "outside" before, never heard the word "fun", or "play"._

"That's not good, I guess the scientist are mean to you too…"

_They were mean to you?_

"They asked me a lot of question and were mean to Grandpa, and they cut my arm." Sheena lifted her fore paw and halfway between paw and bony joint was a bit of tape and white fluffy thing. He recognized the fluffy thing as the same thing they dipped in stinky stingy stuff to clean any cuts he got.

_Did it hurt?_

"It wasn't that bad." The creature's mouth curled up. "I was a big girl and didn't cry, that made Grandpa proud."

Corrine didn't quite know what to say to that so he stared at that face and tried to find the creature's snout. Plus where was the thing's fur? Was that little patch between it's ears all it had?

"I don't have a snout." The thing made it's "hehe" noise. "I have a nose and a mouth."

_Oh…_

"This is my nose." The creature pointed to the somewhat pointy mound of flesh somewhat below it's eyes. "This is mu muph." The creature but a weird thing that jutted out of it's paw over the part that moved, muffling and warping it's speech. Corrine let out a string of hiccup barks and felt the corners of his snout curl up. The last time that had happened he was being shoved in a cage after biting Mr. Needles lover in the butt.

_You're a strange two legged creature._

"I'm a human, not a two legged creature."

 _Oh…_ Corrine blinked. _Are the other white fake furred monsters human's too?_

"Huh? Fake furred… ohh you mean their clothes…" A small foot lifted up and kicked at the ground while the cr- human lay on it's belly. "Grandpa called them half elf scientists. I think they're a bunch of mean old Baka heads."

_Baka?_

"It's a bad word, don't tell Grandpa I said that."

_They can't hear me anyways… Don't worry, I wont tell._

"Thanks, your nice Corrine!" The human bared it's teeth, but the lips were curled up so it didn't seem all that hostile.

Not knowing how to answer that Corrine decided to try to find his green slip he'd been "playing" with, but there was so many of them he felt himself getting a little lost. The one nice thing about cages was that you knew where everything was and couldn't really lose anything unless the large white paws came in and took it away from you.

"What'cha looking for Corrine?"

_The… green thing… I was batting it and…_

"Grass, it's a piece of grass silly. How can you not know what grass is?"

Corrine didn't reply, went deeper in the endless world of grass, his tail whipped up so that he could be seen.

"I'll help you look, I'll go this way!" Scrambling on fore paw and the hind leg's joint the human went in the wrong way. Rolling his eyes like he'd seen the "half elfes" do so often Corrine kept his paws on the soft springy ground and sniffed for his own scent. Amongst the many hundred and one scents that didn't burn he felt himself a little overwhelmed. It was nice just sniffing, and seeing what smells there were, he really was growing to like that soft moist earth smell.

"I can't find it!" Sheena whined.

_There's a lot here… A lot of… grass it must of got lost._

"I guess so." Sheena sighed, there was a thump some ways off, she must have gotten farther in her search, but then she was bigger so she probably saw more then he did. Everything except the grass was bigger then him(and sometimes it was bigger then him!), and that idea was a little scary. In the cage the only things bigger then him were the monsters in white fake furs, but then the cage didn't have grass or wind or anything…

Despite being scary he decided that the outside was nice.

And being outside meant he wasn't alone either. Turning on his paws he followed his snout and ears. It took a while, every step caused the grass to rustle and run it's slippery green fingers through his fur, but he found a lump of purple and jumped on said lump when it was in front of him.

"Oww… for something small you're awful heavy!"

_Sorry_

"It's alright, you aren't that heavy."

_But you just said I was heavy._

"Well you aren't now." The human Sheena growled. "Stop being so… I don't know just stop it."

 _Alright_ … Not quite understanding what he was supposed to stop being Corrine tucked his tail to his side and moved it so that the fluffy blue and green waves would rest under his chin. He winced when the human patted him with a forepaw, and cracked open an eye to show his annoyance.

"You're pretty."

_Pretty?_

"Nice to look at." The Sheena creature said with a calm authority that was near laughable due to it's high pitched squeakiness that it was delivered in.

_Oh, well I guess you are too._

Anything non-scientist or cage was pretty in his mind. The human smiled at his words, pleased with the word. Happy enough to be quiet and close his eyes for a bit Corrine nestled his head amongst the softness of his tail and let the "outside" noises run over his ears. Sheena seemed less inclined to do so, she squirmed and fussed, and it was really uncomfortable being on someone when they squirmed he learned.

"What's it like walking on four legs?"

Corrine snapped his eyes open and stared at the human in confusion.

_Umm well… It's like walking on two I guess except you do it on four._

"Have you ever walked on two legs before?"

_No…_

"Well it must be interestin' walking on four legs… you get to see the ground really close and stuff."

 _By far I imagine walking on two is better, after all you are taller and see much more around you_.

Sheena frowned, her dark sunset colors fading on cloud eyes were distant. Corrine returned the look, his eyes vacant as his mind was pre-occupied with it's own thoughts.

"How about I help you walk on two legs and you teach me how to walk on four?"

_That sounds… fun_

"It'll be fun, I gotta get up to do this so…"

Corrine hopped off of the Sheena human's mid-section and it tucked both it's legs under it and sat on it's haunches and rump.

"Okay, now put your paws in my palms."

Corrine stared at the two offered forepaws, blinked as they were both completely turned over. That was amazing, he couldn't turn his paws over like that! He stared at the wiggling ends, stared at the big line covered expanses, and wondered what the heck the palm was. He didn't have to explain as Sheena seemed to hear his confusion and explained.

"These are my fingers." Sheena made the wiggling ends wiggle. "And these are my palms." She stroked the big flat area with the wig- fingers. Corrine put his paws over her palm, not quite knowing what to expect. He squeaked in terror when she gently wrapped her fingers over his fore limbs and pulled up.

"Don't worry you wont fall, I wont let you fall, I swear you wont fall, alright?"

He knew what being stretched out was like. The scientists stretched him out a lot, back in the cage, so they could really poke and prod. It was all he could do to keep himself from curling into a ball in response to being stretched. She held him up, then gently eased him down. His hind paws touched the ground, but his fore… His fore were quivering in her grasp.

_I'm doing it Sheena, see, I'm walking like a two legged human!_

"See, I know you could do it, and you haven't fallen yet! What'd I tell you?"

 _This is interesting!_ Corrine chirped into the human's mind. _I think this is fun…_ He took a step or two and she scooted back while holding his forepaws so he could walk some more two-legged like. _Wow, I'm taller now, I like being tall!_

"Hey I have an idea." Sheena grinned.

She let go of his paws and he sank down once again short. Before he could protest she knelt down and told him to get up. He stared at her shoulders, considered her, then remembered her promise. With a happy bark Corrine hopped up onto the offered shoulder, and when she stood it seemed like he could see the whole world.

 


End file.
